IHG opens 100th Canadian Holiday Inn Express

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) crossed the milestone of 100 open Holiday Inn Express hotels in Canada with the opening of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Trois-Rivières in Quebec. Located at 2000 rue des Grands-Marchés in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, the 111-room hotel is owned by Groupe Robin.

On the heels of this 100th hotel milestone are three additional openings for the brand in Canada: the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Brantford, Ontario; Holiday Inn Express & Suites Kelowna (British Columbia) - East; and Holiday Inn Express & Suites Moncton, New Brunswick.

Canada is host to more secondary and tertiary markets (i.e. with a population of less than 100,000) than there are metropolitan markets (i.e. with a population of more than 100,000). With 103 open hotels and 24 additional hotels in the development pipeline, Holiday Inn Express properties account for more than 56 percent of IHG’s Canadian portfolio.

Pictured from left: Kristopher Wekarchuk, director of Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel operations; Gaétan Laplante, construction foreman; Robert Robin, chairman of the board of Groupe Robin; Yves Lévesque, mayor of the city of Trois-Rivières; Nellie Robin, president of Groupe Robin; Stuart Laurie, director, franchise sale and development for IHG; and Frédéric Bilodeau, GM of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Trois-Rivières. Photo credit: InterContinental Hotels Group

“There is a market need for upper-midscale hotels. In 2017 alone, IHG Canada experienced unprecedented growth with 24 new hotels signings—the most we’ve seen in 10 years," Jonathan Lund, regional VP, Canada, IHG, said in a statement. "I have no doubt that IHG will continue to extend its leadership position in the midscale segment, offering significant opportunities to Canadian owners.”

“Reaching the milestone of 100 open Holiday Inn Express hotels is a tremendous achievement for IHG in Canada. Not only does it illustrate the appeal of this iconic brand to developers and domestic travelers alike, but it is a testament to the strength of our owner relationships and our well-established strategy to accelerate growth in the mainstream segment,” Jennifer Gribble, VP, global avid hotels, mainstream growth at IHG, said in a statement.

IHG has 182 properties with more than 25,000 rooms in Canada, with 46 hotels and more than 5,000 rooms in its development pipeline.